The Labour Values team has put together a comprehensive submission to Peter Hain’s Refounding Labour consultation. You can download the whole document as a PDF here.
val•ue
-noun
- import or meaning; force; significance
- the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society
- any object or quality desirable as a means or as an end in itself
-verb
- to regard or esteem highly
I believe that it would be more convincing if I knew ‘who’ was writing your submission. I find nothing to criticise in your proposals other than the lack of ideology… a bit strange for a group called Labour Values. However, I am sad that an apparently well meaning group does not seem to recognise that for example, there is a world of difference between an NHS run on PFI and the use of private providers, and a National Health Service. This matters because the contortions and contradictions of New Labour stem from that difference and I am no longer prepared to support any party which is not committed to socialist principles and values. Your submission does not make clear whether or not you subscribe to the Third Way, Blue Labour or real Labour.
More about who is involved in Labour Values can be found here http://labourvalues.org.uk/who/. We could put up a list of those who contributed to the review it is true. I will check if people want to do that.
However we hope the ideas have merit whoever wrote them. I am not sure it would increase the value of the contribution which explictly not about policy.
In terms of what we subscribe too – we simple don’t collectively at all. The group involves people who would self identify accross all of the groups, colours and cliques you list and a few more besides and none at all. We don’t agree, and rather like it that way.
Working across and beyond those groups is an express objective Labour Values. And in fact, moving beyond factionalism, being able to disagree but still work together are all things we aspire to.